Trump Campaign Collusion with Russia in its Interference in the 2016 US Presidential Election

RT Anniversary Gala

RT Anniversary Gala Dinner

Public Information

On December 10, 2015, Michael Flynn traveled to Moscow on behalf of Russian government-controlled news agency Russia Today (RT), receiving more than $45,000 (plus airfare, accommodations, and expenses for him and his son) to deliver a speech at a gala where he famously sat next to Vladimir Putin for dinner. Source

RT’s 10-year anniversary conference featured speakers and panelists:

Ken Livingstone, mayor of London during the 2005 terrorist attacks and recently appointed co-chair for the UK’s opposition defense review;

Cyril Svoboda, former- deputy prime minister, minister of foreign affairs, and interior minister of the Czech Republic, who led the negotiations on Czech accession to the EU;

Jill Stein, a US politician and the Green Party’s 2012 presidential candidate;

Willy Wimmer, German statesman and ex-VP of the OSCE;

Patricia Villegas, president of pan-Latin American news network teleSUR;

Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, the country’s main foreign military espionage organization;

Steele Dossier

Memo dated August 10, 2016: Russia’s activities in relation to the US included identifying sympathetic US actors and asking them how Russia could help them; and further, creating and disseminating compromising information (kompromat). As part of this effort, Russia indirectly funded recent visits to Moscow by various US political figures. Russia considered this effort to be “successful in terms of perceived outcomes” in relation to Lyndon Larouche, Jill Stein, Carter Page, and Michael Flynn.

Discussion

Flynn’s speech, and Stein’s attendance at the RT gala were publicly known, so this isn’t corroboration of the Steele dossier.

The dossier’s statements here raise a lot of questions, but it doesn’t make any clear or direct allegations against any party. The discussion was about Russia identifying sympathetic US actors, gathering intelligence from them, and offering to help them; and further, Russia was creating and disseminating kompromat. In some form, this effort was apparently successful in relation to Michael Flynn, Carter Page, and Jill Stein. But it isn’t clear if that means that those parties were sympathetic to Russian interests, if they gave Russia valuable intelligence, if they received help from Russia, and/or if Russia created and/or disseminated kompromat on them. All it seems to really say is that those individuals are in some form doing things Russia likes, either voluntarily or via blackmail.